Baltimore search resumes for missing man

The search for Barry Davis Ryan (20) who has been missing since Tuesday evening when he got into trouble in the waters off the Beacon Point in Baltimore, west Cork, has resumed this morning.

The coastguard lifeboat rescue team was scheduled to recommence searching for Mr Davis Ryan at 8am on Friday. However, underwater diving operations are expected to be called off due to deteriorating weather conditions in the south west of the country.

A spokesman for the Valentia coastguard station said the underwater search and rescue operation would most likely be called off for the whole weekend due to strong winds and poor weather.

Mr Davis Ryan went missing after going to the aid of his girlfriend, Niamh O’Connor (20) when she fell or was swept into the sea near Beacon Point outside Baltimore at about 6.30pm on Tuesday.

Mr Davis Ryan’s father, Barry Ryan (51) went to the aid of his son and Ms O’Connor and all three were swept out by waves in an area known as Eastern Hole Bay on the seaward side of Beacon Point.

The three had been walking on the shore at Beacon Point with Barry Ryan’s daughter, Charlotte (13), when the incident happened.

He told his daughter to go and get help before he went to try and help his son and Ms O’Connor.

Ms O’Connor and Mr Ryan were recovered offshore later on Tuesday evening and brought ashore where they were later pronounced dead by a local GP.

A team of local divers carried out a search for the remaining missing man, Barry Davis Ryan, until about 10pm on Tuesday when, due to fading visibility, the search was called off for the night.

John Kearney of the West Cork Underwater Search and Rescue Team said Eastern Hole Bay was a difficult area to search as visibility was poor at depths of up to 20 metres amid a lot of water movement.

The seabed was also quite rocky and covered in kelp, sometimes 2 metres deep, which also hindered the search but they were determined to comb the area as thoroughly as possible, he said.

The operation is being co-ordinated by the Irish Coast Guard Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre at Valentia.

Mr Davis Ryan’s family visited Beacon Point on Thursday to express gratitude to the searchers who have spent the past three days looking for him.

Ann Davis and her daughter Charlotte Davis Ryan were accompanied by Mr Ryan’s brother, Colin Ryan and his wife Fiona and by Garda Liaison Officer Pauline Reid, who introduced them to various members of the Irish Coastguard and other agencies involved in the search operation.

According to Tim O’Keeffe of the Irish Coastguard, “the family just wanted to see the scene for themselves and to express their gratitude to everyone involved in the search for their efforts while it also gave us an opportunity to express our condolences to the family on their loss”.

Funeral arrangements have been finalised for Ms O’Connor from Glanmire who is survived by her parents, Paul and Catherine and sister, Clodagh. She will be buried following requiem mass at the Sacred Heart Church, Glounthaune near Cork city at 10am on Saturday morning.